Insomnia In The Elderly A Review For The Primary Care Practitioner

These sleep characteristics may be experienced as normal acceptable patterns which are not reported as problems.
Insomnia in the elderly a review for the primary care practitioner. 3 4 patients with chronic insomnia are more likely to develop affective disorders. A review for the primary care practitioner. A complete sleep history including information on any disruptive nighttime or daytime behaviors that may be affecting the patient s sleep and medical and psychiatric examination should be conducted to evaluate possible comorbid conditions. The ideal agent has rapid onset duration of action that lasts through the night but no residual.
Managing insomnia in the older patient involves tailoring the treatment. The ideal agent has rapid onset duration of action that lasts through the night but no residual daytime effects and no adverse effects. 5 6 insomnia may worsen somatic symptoms. Benzodiazepine receptor agonists are common hypnotics prescribed for insomnia in the elderly.
Insomnia in the elderly. 1 inadequate sleep has been associated with reduced physical health 2 subsequent decline in health status and increased mortality. A review of benefit and risk. Benzodiazepine receptor agonists are common hypnotics prescribed for insomnia in the elderly.
Ten percent to 40 of adults have intermittent insomnia and 15 have long term sleep difficulties. Insomnia in the elderly some older patients may report falling asleep and wak ing earlier awakening more frequently during the night and taking daily naps. The goal should be to improve both sleep at night and daytime functioning. Nowell pd mazumdar s buysse dj dew ma reynolds cf 3rd kupfer dj.
32 case study mrs. 37 39 although cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be effective for a longer duration than sedative hypnotics 35 there may be times when comorbid chronic insomnia may also need chronic pharmacological treatment. Benzodiazepines for insomnia in community dwelling elderly. We performed a medline search using ovid and the key words insomnia sleeplessness behavior modification herbs medicinal and.
The longer acting agents have been shown to result in a higher risk of falls and hip fractures in the elderly. While insomnia might be primary or comorbid in younger populations in the elderly insomnia is most often comorbid with medical or psychiatric conditions that generally require chronic treatment. This article provides a review of the classification differential diagnosis and treatment options available for insomnia. The aim of this review is to explain the difference between sleep disorders and sleep alterations as a result of ageing to characterise insomnia in older adults and finally to present the different effective non pharmacological possibilities accompanied by evidence for the treatment of insomnia in older adults.
Chen and colleagues found in primary care clinics a report of insomnia as well as a prescription for sleep aids both independently predicted falls in the older adults.